Do you look forward to recess every day? After a morning full of studying, it's nice to be able to go outside and stretch your legs for a bit. Some kids head straight for the swings or the teeter-totter, while others grab a ball and play four square.

Have you ever played cricket or seen a game played on television? While many Americans know all about football, baseball, and basketball, not many know much about the sport of cricket. After soccer, though, it's one of the most popular sports in the world!

Since cricket involves a bat and a ball, you might think it's similar to baseball. However, while cricket and baseball do share a few similarities, cricket has its own unique equipment, field, and rules that make it a bit of a challenge to graspquickly.

A game of cricket pits two teams of 11 players each against one another. The team that scores the most runs in its innings wins.

The cricket field is a large oval with a 22-yard, rectangular pitch in the middle. Each end of the pitch has a set of wickets, which are composed of three tall, wooden stumps and two wooden bails that sit atop the three stumps.

Like baseball, one team bats first while the other team fields. The batting team sends two players to the pitch at a time, and they stand in front of the wickets on opposite sides of the pitch. The fielding team has one player (called the bowler) who throws the ball and one who catches it (called the wicket-keeper), while the remaining nine players play fielding positions all around the oval.

The bowler throws the ball in such a way that it will bounce before it gets to the batter. The bowler's goal is to hit the wicket, in which case the batter is out. The batter tries to hit the ball after it bounces to prevent it from hitting the wicket. Unlike a baseball bat, a cricket bat is long and rectangular with one flat side and one curved side.

If the ball is hit, runs can be scored by the batter and his teammate racing to the opposite wicket. A long hit might allow multiple runs to be scored before the fielding team can retrieve the ball or throw out one of the runners. Hits that make it all the way to the fieldboundary are awarded four runs (if the ball bounces first) or six runs (if the ball doesn't bounce first).

If a batter thinks he will be thrown out (in the case of a short hit, for example), he doesn't have to run after he hits the ball. He can simply bat again instead. There are also no foul balls. The entire oval around the pitch is fair territory.

Each playing phase in a game of cricket is called an innings (with an 's'). The innings ends after either 10 batters have been eliminated or a predetermined number of overs have been completed. In cricket terms, each delivery of the ball is known as a ball. Six balls equal one over.

Cricket matches can take a variety of forms. Short matches might be played over the course of a few hours with each team having a single innings of 20 or 50 overs. Test or first-class cricket matches can last as long as five days with teams playing two innings each with unlimited overs!

Did you get it?

Wonder What's Next?

We hope you have the time to join us in Wonderopolis tomorrow. We’ll save you some space!

Try It Out

We hope this Wonder of the Day scored big! Ask a few friends or family members to join you as you check out the following fun activities:

Still not sure you understand exactly how cricket is played? No worries! Jump online to read through How To Understand the Basic Rules of Cricket. This handy tutorial will walk you through all of the basics, so you can comprehend what's going on the first time you get to watch or play cricket.

If you want to get a sense of the kinds of stories that swirl around the world of international and professional cricket, check out The Cricket Monthly online. Click through and read a few stories to learn more about the game and the players that excel at it.

If you like video games, jump online to try Cricket: Defend the Wicket. How many runs can you score? How does the video game differ from the real game? Challenge a friend or family member to compete against you!

Cakarai

Wonderopolis

Aidan

May 23, 2017

In cricket are there innings? Do people were certain clothes? and How many people can be on a cricket team? What team Wonderopolis do you think is the best cricket team? and Have you ever played cricket in your life or would you like to play cricket? Do you like cricket or baseball better.

Answer

Wonderopolis

May 24, 2017

WOW!! So many great questions, Aidan! We don't know much more about it than what we wrote about. We have seen it played a little but no one on our team has ever played. If you're still WONDERing, we encourage you to do a little more research to find out more! 😃

Wonderopolis

Feb 23, 2017

Cricket is probably similar to other sports where you can play with more or less players, but it's not the ideal. Since it's similar to baseball, if you have too many players in the field, it would be harder to get a base hit. On the other hand, if you had too few players, it would be much easier to get on base. So yes, it's possible but it does affect the game play. Great WONDERing, Lynn!

Wonderopolis

Peyton(Murphys class)

Feb 22, 2017

This was a cool wonder even though it didn't really catch my interest. there are plenty of wonders out there. I only like fighting sports.those are literally the only sports i watch or like to do.I think tomorrows wonder will be about the ocean. I like this website :D

Peyton (Murphys Class)

Wonderopolis

Natalie J.

Feb 22, 2017

Thought: I have never heard of the game cricket before.
Connection: I really don't think I would like that game because it's very similar to baseball and I really don't like baseball.
Wonder Word: Soccer is a popular sport.
Prediction: I bet tomorrow's wonder will be about space and maybe mars.